Dual Knights
by Baxter54132
Summary: Lisa and Yukina become knights and are assigned to Roselia. They tackle many challenges, including bandits, foreign castles, and their relationship. YukiLisa medieval fantasy AU.
1. Chapter 1

Hello! This is my 2018 Nano project. Flip and both doing fantasy AUs. Mine has a little magic and focuses on Lisa while hers focuses on Sayo. Please bear with me, I will try my best.

* * *

Conisbrough is a quaint and peaceful kingdom. It consists of a few cities, but mostly is filled with thick forests and wildlife. Their main crops are wheat, asparagus, and onions. A spindly river runs from east to west and establishes their northern border with Cadeby. They also share borders with Denaby in the east and New Edlington in the west. It takes approximately half a day via horse to get from any border of Consisbrough back to the centrally located castle. Lisa Imai finds herself experiencing this journey. She's currently riding on horseback from the New Edlington border, returning home from a mission with her unit.

As it stands, Lisa is a squire for Conisbrough.

She moved into the castle almost 8 years ago and had been swept up in a whirlwind of activities since then. She first served as a page, but after proving she could hold her own in basic combat was finally promoted to be a squire. As a page she served Sir Enkelton, and boy was he a grouchy one. He always asked her to fetch him this and fetch him that and scolded her if she wasn't fast enough. Still, Lisa has learned to love him over the years. Enough so that she was overjoyed when they announced she'd stay with him through her time as a squire.

Even now, at the age of 18, Lisa is happy with serving him. He's calmed down and become much kinder with age. He's much older than the knight Yukina was assigned to, but he can still handle himself in battle and treats her well.

That's right, Yukina entered the castle with her. They both served Knight Enkelton as pages, but then when they became squires Yukina was assigned to one of the newer knights in the kingdom. Sir Alianor turned 20 just last year. The size of his ego was only matched by his mouth. Still, Lisa found him entertaining even if he occasionally tried Yukina's patience. The four of them made up her current unit, which was called Mace.

The mission was a simple one. There was a report from a citizen of a murder in a small village on the edge of the kingdom. The king tasked Sir Alionor and Sir Enkelton to investigate and bring back the culprit. The investigation went smoothly, but unfortunately by the time they found the culprit he had committed suicide. With that settled they decided to head home.

Lisa glances around at the trees as they blur past. They've been riding for a couple of hours now, it should only be a handful more until they're home. She's riding in the back left corner of the group, with Yukina's horse trotting to her right. She takes a moment to check her weapons. Squires don't get the first choice of gear, but she thinks she managed to snare a couple good ones. She has a long sword resting in its holster at her side and a bow slung across her back. Her quiver is still full, which is great since sometimes arrows get knocked out from the bumps of horseback riding.

If given a choice Lisa prefers archery first and sword fighting second. It's the opposite with Yukina, so the two of them make a good combo. Yukina doesn't even carry a bow, just a short sword and shield.

"Lisa." A soft but urgent voice interrupts her weapons check. She glances over and Yukina's golden eyes are looking over Lisa's head, into the forest behind her. "Did you hear that?"

Lisa twists her shoulders to the left and peers into the forest. She hadn't heard a thing. She turns to look behind them as well, but everything seems to be silent. The only thing she can hear is the sound of their horses trotting along the dirt path. "No, sorry Yukina." She shrugs and smiles, "I didn't hear anything."

Yukina grumbles something unintelligible and keeps looking around.

The next minute feels like it's going in slow motion. Lisa's attention is drawn forward when Sir Enkelton's horse suddenly rears, letting out a loud whinny. Lisa pulls on the reins for her own horse to stop, and her eyes widen as Sir Enkelton slides off the back of his horse and flops into the dirt in front of her. One arrow is protruding from the side of his neck, his eyes still wide open. "No! Sir…" The words die in Lisa's throat. Her chest feels heavy and her heart pounding rings in her ears. Suddenly it's hard for her to breathe.

"Lisa!" Yukina's voice echoes loudly in her ears. The silver haired squire is off her horse already and tugs fervently on Lisa's right arm. "Get down!" Desperation seeps into her voice, and this awakens something in Lisa. She pulls her feet from the saddle and slides off her horse.

Her senses are still hazy as her feet hit the ground. She realizes a couple of large looking individuals are pushing through the trees to her left, but what can she even do if they've killed her master?

Lisa's right next to Yukina now, and the smaller squire acts quickly to place her shield between Lisa's back and her attackers. Lisa's knees shake as she tries to think of a plan, but her mind is completely blank. She glances down, and all she can see are Yukina's golden eyes peering up at her. That's right… Yukina is here; so close she could caress her cheek; and right now she's protecting her, shielding her from whatever danger is approaching.

Lisa draws in a shaky breath and exhales.

She can hear the footsteps now of the individuals nearing. They're stomping down the path without a care in the world, and she hears one gleefully roar to the other about their easy prey.

"There are three of them." Yukina speaks quietly so they won't be overheard. "Two swordsman and one archer." Yukina pauses for a moment and listens as the footsteps grow louder. When she speaks again, her voice is clear and her eyes are focused. "I'll leave the archer to you."

Lisa's heart swells at the confidence Yukina has in her. That's right, if they work together they can do anything. She nods and reaches for her bow, her knees finally stilling as she crouches and prepares for their next move.

Yukina's lip twitches up slightly, and then she's off running towards Sir Alionor who is already engaging with the two swordsmen.

Lisa suddenly feels exposed with the shield missing, but she takes the chance to dash around the back of her horse and into the woods. Knowing where Sir Enkelton was shot should help her to pinpoint the location of the archer. She shudders as she thinks back to the body she just left behind. The arrow was in his neck on the left side, and he was riding his horse about 20 paces ahead of where she is now.

To her right, she can hear Yukina's battle cry from entering the fight, and she uses the opportunity to move deeper into the forest. After about ten paces she turns right and starts to sneak her way forward. She keeps her eyes trained on the ground as she steps, careful not to crunch any twigs or leaves. After about 10 steps she turns back towards the path, and sure enough she can see a small girl sitting in one of the taller trees. The girl's about halfway between Lisa and the path, and her attention is wholly focused on the battle. Lisa can't tell who her next target is, but she's got an arrow notched, and she looks about ready to take aim.

Lisa doesn't think she's drawn and notched an arrow more quickly in her life. She hastily raises the bow, her heart pounding when the attacker does the same. Lisa draws back the string and forces herself to even her breathing. She thinks back to her archery teacher's instructions and counts down with her breaths. Inhale, exhale, inhale, then fire! Fortunately, she gets her arrow off first and it finds it's mark, burying itself cleanly in the back of the girl's head. Lisa can't help but flinch as she falls from the tree, her final arrow never to be fired.

Lisa quickly hurries back to the battle, keeping her eyes peeled for any additional threats. There don't appear to be any, and when she breaks out onto the path both swordsmen are lying dead on the ground. Yukina's sword is covered up to the hilt in blood, but thankfully she doesn't appear to have any injuries. She looks over as Lisa steps out of the forest but says nothing.

With the threat gone, the whole situation replays in Lisa's mind. Her shaky knees from earlier return, but this time they buckle, and she finds herself kneeling in the dirt. Her armor will probably need extra cleaning because of it but she can't help herself. Tears well up in her eyes and she doesn't even try to stop them as her heart tightens in on itself. She drops her bow and buries her face in her hands. She sobs loudly, collapsing when Yukina kneels in front of her and draws her in to her arms.

* * *

"We are gathered here today to recognize two squires for their action in battle." The king of Conisbrough gestures to Lisa and Yukina who are kneeling before him. "These two have shown battle capabilities beyond that of mere squires, and they are ready to become knights."

There's no response, which makes sense since the only other person in the throne room is Sir Alionor. The King motions to him, "Could you please share you experience with these fine individuals?"

Sir Alionor was lingering in the back of the room, and he clears his throat as he steps forward. "Of course. Yukina has been under my tutelage for the past 2 years and I have had the pleasure of seeing Lisa in action as well. Both have displayed the skills necessary to complete the day by day requirements of being a knight. They have also proved themselves in battle today, single handedly defeating a group of bandits." Sir Alionor draws in a shaky breath. "It's too bad that Sir Enkelton couldn't be here to see this. He'd be so proud."

"Thank you." The king steps down from his throne and first approaches Yukina, who is on Lisa's left. She bends her head down as he raises the ceremonial sword. "Do you, Yukina Minato, agree to accept the role of knighthood and uphold the highest standard for the kingdom of Conisbrough?"

Yukina responds confidently. "I do."

The king taps her left shoulder with the flat of the blade and then the right. "Then I hereby knight you to serve Conisbrough as long as you are able."

He moves to Lisa next. The king has watched over them since they first came to the castle and she can see pride glimmering in his eyes. She lowers her head as he begins to speak. "Do you, Lisa Imai, agree to accept the role of knighthood and uphold the highest standard for the kingdom of Conisbrough?"

"I do." Lisa feels a gentle tap on her left shoulder, followed by her right.

"Then I hereby knight you to serve Conisbrough as long as you are able." The king turns around and climbs the couple of steps back up to his throne. "Please rise."

Lisa feels a rush of joy as she lifts herself to her feet. They did it! She glances to her left and catches Yukina's eyes. She wants to leap over there to celebrate, but that will have to wait until after the ceremony. For now, she shoots Yukina a warm smile. Yukina gives her the smallest of smiles back, causing Lisa's heart to flutter.

"Now that you are knights, it is your responsibility to protect this kingdom." The king has a small scroll sitting on the table next to his throne. He places the ceremonial sword down on the table and picks up the scroll. "As you know, our knights work in units ranging from 2 to 4 knights plus their squires. I'm placing you both in Roselia, reporting to Sayo Hikawa. Alionor, you will be placed onto Spider effective immediately." The king holds out the scroll and motions for Lisa to come get it as he continues to speak. "Roselia received a mission early this morning. This scroll has more details and needs to be delivered to Sayo. She's waiting for you in the armory." He hands Lisa the scroll with his final words, "Good luck to you both, I'm sure you'll be fine knights.


	2. Chapter 2

Yukina and Lisa are already quite familiar with the castle, so it only takes a few minutes for them to walk from the throne room to the armory. The throne room is centrally located, while the quarters and training space for knights are in the north wing. The armory entrance is next to a large training field littered with dummies and a fully built out shooting range. They've used the field many times in the past, but becoming a knight means they can participate in the full knight training and not only when they were sporadically invited. There's plenty of time for that later, for now the two of them enter the armory.

Lisa's seen Sayo around the castle but never really spoken with her. She's heard some things of course, but that's just gossip. Mostly she's heard that Sayo's incredibly talented, which led her to becoming the youngest unit captain in the kingdom. It's amazing that she's built up such a reputation despite only being 18. Probably because she also has a fiery temper; which Lisa's heard even more about than her aforementioned skills. Sayo is not someone who takes failure well, and her unit is revered as one of the best in the kingdom.

Regardless of what she's heard, Lisa decides to go in with an open mind. She likes to form her own opinions of people and hopes they can become friends.

Upon entering the armory Lisa glances around the medium sized room. The walls are lined with a large array of weapons and organized by type. To her left are the two handed weapons, such as maces and longswords. In the middle are the short swords and shields. To the right are the bows. Lisa's always loved the castle's collection of bows, and of course she has her favorites in the set. Maybe now she'll get first pick. Lisa's fingers twitch at the thought.

Sayo's sitting on a long bench in front of the bows. She has a small stack of arrows to her right and one grasped in her left hand. She's holding it over her lap and has a small sharpener in her right hand. She glances up as they enter and places her equipment to her left.

There are two others in the room. Rinko, who Lisa has met at least a couple of times, and her used to be fellow squire Ako. Rinko's sitting further down on the bench from Sayo; her attention focused on inspecting a large staff. Rinko is one of the quietest knights she's ever met, who's kindness is only matched by her magic abilities.

This is quite a contrast from the unit's squire. Technically Ako is Sayo's squire, but Lisa's seen her do a lot for Rinko as well. The tiny teenager is shining a large shield in the back of the room, but she also ceases her activities to come greet them. "Rin-rin, they're here!"

Interesting that she called her that instead of using her full name. Lisa already feels more at home, they must be close. Rinko's eyes snap up from the staff, clearly startled out of her thoughts. "Ah… thank you Ako." She rises from the bench and gives them a polite nod, "Hello."

Sayo stands up as well, and she gives them each a once over from head to toe before speaking. "Welcome to Roselia." Her introduction is curt. "I know we've all interacted once or twice, but let's reintroduce ourselves." She motions for Lisa and Yukina to come closer and the group forms a loose circle. "My name is Sayo Hikawa. My specialty is archery and daggers when needed. I am the leader of this unit, failure will not be tolerated." Sayo makes eye contact with Lisa as she says the last sentence, and it's almost as if she's speaking directly to her and not the whole group. Sayo holds her gaze for a heartbeat before glancing away.

Ako breaks the silence with a loud burst of enthusiasm. "I'll go next! I'm…"

"Ako." Sayo interrupts her coldly. "The knights should go first."

Ako pouts, "But Sayo..." She widens her eyes and leans in slightly toward the gap in the circle, "Does it really matter?"

Sayo crosses her arms, "Yes, and that's Sir Sayo to you." Sayo sighs deeply, "We have to do things properly. Rinko, you go next."

Rinko flinches at her name being called. "It's really not… okay then." She draws in a deep breath and exhales slowly before speaking. "My name… is Rinko Shirokane. I'm a… mage." She holds up the staff in her hands, "I specialize in… healing magic… and also elemental."

"Great job Rin-rin!" Ako cheers but immediately falls silent when Sayo shoots her an angry glare.

Yukina's standing to Rinko's right, so she goes next. "I'm Yukina Minato. My specialty is a short sword and shield. I've also practiced with a halberd."

Simple and to the point, something that Lisa's always loved about Yukina. Now it's her turn. She clears her throat. "Hi! My name is Lisa Imai. My weapon of choice is a bow and arrow, but I also always keep my trusted longsword by my side." Lisa pats the sheathed sword dangling from her left hip. "I'm looking forward to learning and growing with everyone!"

Ako bounces up and down on the balls of her feet as she realizes they've gone all the way around. "Finally! My name is Ako Udagawa, but you can call me the master of darkness." Ako cackles, but to Lisa it sounds more childish than dark. "My specialty is dual wielding and I'm studying to be a mage! I'm _Sir_ Sayo's squire, but really I can help anyone in the unit." Ako flourishes one hand to point at the shield she was kneeling by previously. "I'm also a master polisher!"

Lisa gives the shield a good look, and sure enough it looks shinier than the day it came out of the blacksmith. She comments, "You did a great job with that one!"

Ako grins from the praise, "Thank you! I've been working on that one for about an hour."

Sayo interrupts Ako once again by clearing her throat to regain their attention. "Anyway, lets talk about our most recent assignment."

The mention of the mission reminds Lisa of the message still within her possession. "Oh yeah, this is from the king." She passes the note to Sayo, who accepts it with a polite thank you.

She unrolls the scroll and gives it a quick read. "All right, so they're expecting us in two days. This is good progress." She glances up at the group, "I'll fill you in." Sayo passes the scroll to Ako as she starts to explain, "We have been selected to visit the castle of our neighbors in the west, New Edlington. As I'm sure you know, we've always been on good terms with them. Starting around 2 months ago, the farmers along the border started a dispute over a few fields. Things have been somewhat tense, so our job is to go negotiate over these lands and ensure our relationship with New Edlington remains strong."

"It seems straightforward," Yukina interjects.

Sayo nods, "It should be. We need to be wary of tainting our relationship with them of course, but I think this is a good first assignment for you. According to the message they're expecting us two evenings from now."

So they have a whole day before they need to leave. "What'll we do tomorrow then?" Lisa feels a rush of excitement as she thinks about all of the new knight activities she's going to get to take part in.

Sayo's already prepared with her answer. "Tomorrow is going to be a full day for us. Sword practice in the morning and magic aptitude training after lunch. We'll have the later afternoon off for Enkelton's funeral." She falls silent, her eyes downcast. Lisa tries to not to dwell on it when she continues. "We'll have the evening free to pack and rest, then head out the following morning. Does anyone have any questions?"

Lisa shakes her head no, and she can see the others do the same.

"Good. Let's get some dinner." Sayo turns around and gathers her arrows from the bench. As she puts them away Ako chimes in.

"Are we going to eat together?" Her voice pitches up she grins.

With her task done, Sayo brushes between Yukina and Lisa to make her way towards the door. "Of course."

* * *

Lisa sleeps well that night, her entire body drained from the action earlier in the day. She wakes up around 8:30 the next morning, which is about an hour and a half longer than she normally sleeps. She's shared a room with Yukina since they first moved in and considers the space her home. The room is humble, it has one large window on the back wall with two single beds in the corners beneath it. Next to the door Lisa's installed a few small hooks for clothing and armor. They also have a small weapons shelf for their personal weapons and a wardrobe with a mirror on top. In the center of the room they've laid a bear rug with a low square table. The tabletop is only about a foot on the ground, and the two of them eat most of their meals there.

Yukina is still dozing away so Lisa changes into some casual clothes and slips out of their room. She heads towards the kitchen to fetch breakfast. A few people are lingering about, and they shout congratulations to her as she passes them in the hall. The castle steward posts notices in the grand hall every morning, and they must have announced their knighthood. She accepts their kind words happily and says she'll share what they said with Yukina.

Due to all the commotion it takes a bit longer for her to return with breakfast, and when she steps back into her shared room at 9:30 Yukina is already awake. She's standing in front of the mirror and running a hairbrush through her hair.

Lisa wishes her a good morning and takes her tray of goodies to the table. This morning there was fresh rye bread, so she got them each a piece plus two cups of tea. She sits down at the table, and after a moment Yukina puts down the hairbrush and joins her. The two eat in a comfortable silence. It almost feels the same as any day prior, but today is different. Today they're knights.

* * *

Their breakfast is so relaxed that they're almost late meeting the group. Lisa turns the corner right at 10:00, and the armory entrance is in sight. She feels a twinge of anxiety when she realizes they're the last ones to arrive. Ako is leaning against the armory door, chattering at a mile a minute to Rinko. Sayo is standing next to them, but rather than paying attention to the squire her gaze is directed straight down the corridor, locked on to Lisa and Yukina as they make their way towards her. Lisa raises her right arm and waves, but Sayo narrows her eyes in response. Ako finally notices them approaching, and she cuts off whatever she was talking about to wave back at Lisa. She calls out, "Good morning!"

"Good morning!" Lisa greets her back as they finally reach where the group is standing. "Ahaha, sorry that we were almost late." She bows her head and motions for Yukina to do the same.

Sayo grimaces, "Just don't let it happen again." With that settled she excuses herself for a moment and steps inside the armory.

Ako pushes herself off the wall and bounces over to them. "You'll never guess what I saw last night! I was just telling Rin-rin about it."

"Hm? What was it?" Lisa encourages her to continue.

"Are you sure you're ready for this?" Ako raises her eyebrows, "It was suuuuuper scary." She waves her hands in front of her face and goes, "Ooooooooh."

Lisa laughs, "I'm sure we can handle it, right Yukina?" She nudges Yukina gently in the side. The shorter teen had her eyes locked onto the armory entrance, but the contact draws her into their conversation. She furrows her eyebrows as if deep in thought. She probably _is_ deep in thought due to not hearing what was said. Lisa throws her a bone. "Don't you think we can handle Ako's story?"

Yukina blinks once, "Oh, yes." she states firmly.

The armory door creaks open, signaling Sayo's return to the group. She has a bundle of wooden swords cradled in her arms. "Everyone come get a sword. Story time can wait until later."

Ako grumbles, but complies and each person accepts a sword from Sayo. Rinko seems a bit hesitant. "Do I… have to… participate?" She holds the sword away from her body as if it were a snake.

Sayo frowns, "Yes, you do." She addresses the whole group, "I'd like to see first hand everyone's skill set with basic weaponry. We're going to be in battle together so it's important we know each other's strengths and weaknesses."

'U-Understood." Rinko looks down at the sword, and to Lisa she still looks quite uncomfortable.

Ako chimes in, "Don't worry Rin-rin, in a real battle I'll protect you!" She raises her sword with both hands over her right shoulder and slashes diagonally in front of her body. "By the way Sayo, can I get a second one?" Ako pushes the sword into her right hand and holds out her left palm. "Dual wielding is the way to go after all."

Sayo tells her no, everyone gets one sword, so you do too and it's not up for debate. She leads the group out into the training field. "I'm going to partner you up and observe. Ako with Lisa and Rinko with Yukina. Please treat the spar seriously as if it were a real battle."

Lisa doesn't mind this matchup, she's sparred with Ako many times in the past and is pretty familiar with her fighting style. The two of them walk a few paces away to create some space for them to spar in. "I won't go easy on you just because I'm a knight now." Lisa teases.

Ako laughs and grins at her, "I wouldn't want it any other way!" She gets into a fighting stance, two hands on the hilt of her sword and one foot slightly ahead of the other. "I've become one with the darkness since last time we clashed, so this time my victory is assured!"

Ako lunges forward, causing their banter to cease. The attack comes straight towards Lisa, so she easily steps to the left and pushes Ako's sword out to the right with her own. Ako stumbles past her and quickly spins around. She swings again without hesitating, which Lisa blocks as well.

They fall into a quick rhythm. Ako attacks, Lisa blocks, Ako tries again and Lisa blocks again. Ako's moving quicker than she has in the past, but she's easy to follow. Her eyes give away her attacks and then she winds up her swing for just a second too long. Lisa blocks for the tenth time, and she can see that Ako's getting out of breath. She waits as the squire reels back to strike again, but this time when the sword comes down Lisa angles the tip of her sword towards Ako's wrist and expertly flicks the sword out of her hands. It lands in the grass a few yards away and Ako sinks to her knees, breathing heavily. "Looks like you defeated the darkness," she jokes weakly.

The two of them share a friendly chuckle and Lisa reaches out to pull Ako to her feet. "You've gotten fast!" She reaches out to ruffle her hair affectionately, "You'll be a knight in no time."

Ako seems pleased from the praise. They decide to return to Sayo, and upon looking Lisa realizes they've gone quite a distance from where Lisa and Ako were sparring.

Yukina and Rinko are still fighting, though Lisa's not sure if that's the right word to describe what's going on. They're nearly on the opposite side of the training field at this point. Yukina is slowly advancing while Rinko matches her step for step, only she's moving backwards. The expression on her face can only be described as panic, which Lisa thinks is probably due to Yukina's intensity. She can't see her friend's face from this angle, but she's sure her expression is fierce and determined.

Sayo is walking a few paces away from them, and though Lisa can't hear them from this distance she appears to be saying something to Rinko. Lisa imagines it's something like 'buck up and fight.' Sayo suddenly walks in between them, grabs onto Rinko's sword and forcibly holds it up in a proper fighting stance. She says something else and then walks away with a shake of her head. Rinko's lips move so she must be saying something back and she finally stops backpedaling. She takes a step forward toward Yukina and raises her sword to block when the newer knight delivers a blow. Rinko winces when the swords clash, and for a second the two of them are frozen. Then it's broken as Yukina raises her sword an inch and delivers a second strike, cleanly knocking Rinko's weapon from her hands.

Lisa and Ako decide to fetch Ako's sword and walk over there. As they cross the field Sayo returns to Rinko's side and starts talking with her about something. Yukina is also listening quite closely and Lisa's pleased that she seems engaged in their conversation.

"…being brave." Sayo is just finishing talking with Rinko when Lisa finally gets into ear shot. The blue haired knight turns to Yukina next. "Your ability to disarm Rinko was good, but the battle dragged on for far too long. Next time you need to lunge early on to get her to stop retreating. In a real life situation you could easily get dragged into an ambush."

Yukina nods, "Understood. Thank you."

Ako announces their arrival by grabbing Rinko's hands and pulling them up to hold between their bodies. "Rin-rin you were so brave! Great job facing Yukina!"

Rinko's face heats up and she glances down at their joined hands. "T-thank you... but I… wasn't very good."

"You'll get better with time." Sayo raises her right arm and reaches out to pat Rinko on her shoulder. Her attention shifts towards Ako, "I have some feedback for you as well."

Instead of listening in, Lisa walks over to Yukina who is waiting silently a few paces away. "That was amazing! Your strike was so clean, I almost couldn't follow it."

"Lisa… thank you." She smiles, and Lisa's heart flutters from how cute it is. "I wish I could have seen yours. Though…" she glances over at Ako, "I can imagine how it went." Her eyes return to Lisa, "You won, correct?"

"Hey!" Lisa purses her lips and shakes her head. "That's mean, Ako's improved a lot! She's gotten pretty quick." She notices that Sayo's done speaking with Ako and is walking towards them.

She stops in front of them. Her words are directed towards Lisa, "You're the only person I haven't given feedback to yet. You did a good job tiring out Ako. The first time you blocked, you made her run past you. My advice would be to do that same move more throughout the fight in order to tire out your opponent quicker. You did a great job otherwise." The praise washes over Lisa like a warm light, and she almost misses Sayo's next statement. "Next will be Ako versus Rinko and the two of you versus each other. You can start whenever you're ready."

Lisa grins, she's sparred Yukina many times, and no matter how it ends up they always have fun. Yukina is definitely the better swordsman between the two of them, but she usually fights with a shield. In this situation Lisa might have the slightest of advantages. She backs up a couple steps and raises her wooden sword into position.

Yukina mirrors her stance, "I won't lose." She lunges forward, and Lisa raises her sword to block. Yukina immediately shuffles to her left and tries to sweep Lisa's sword from her hands, but the taller teen is used to this move from her and steps back to avoid the strike. She pivots to keep their swords in line and counter attacks with a quick strike to Yukina's right side. Yukina successful blocks her. She shuffles further to the left and Lisa ends up circling with her, both wanting to strike but waiting for the right moment.

Yukina takes the next initiative and takes a giant step so she's only a couple inches from Lisa's sword. The quick motion causes Lisa to take a small step backwards, and she finds herself stumbling as Yukina steps forward again and brings her blade up to strike. Lisa attempts to regain her balance, but as Yukina brings her sword down the momentum causes her feet to slip right out from under her. She lands painfully on her ass, her weapon clattering out of her hands into the grass next to her. Yukina's towering over her at this point, her own weapon directed towards Lisa's neck.

The two of them hold the position for a moment, and then Yukina relaxes. She drops the sword and extends one hand to help her up. Lisa graciously accepts and is pulled up to her feet. "That was a great move!" She gushes, "You caught me totally by surprise."

A hint of red splashes across Yukina's cheeks, "You were good too. I thought I had you at the beginning, but you've gotten a lot better."

Lisa opens her mouth to thank her, but she gets distracted when she realizes Ako and Rinko are still sparring across the training field. Well sparring might be a generous description. Ako is bouncing back and forth between her feet while Rinko stands in front of her, sword moving from left to right to try and keep up.

They end up watching them for about ten minutes before Sayo cuts in. The group heads to archery practice next, where Lisa gets to shine. Sayo is still better than her of course, but Lisa doesn't let that get her down. She just needs more practice! Once they're done practicing they're released for lunch.

* * *

After having lunch in their room, Lisa and Yukina head to the alchemy study. Lisa's passed by the study many times in the past, but she's only been inside a handful of times. The room is filled with large books, not only on bookshelves but also stacked up on the tables. The room is well lit by a couple windows, but Lisa thinks at night it might be quite spooky.

Needless to say, Lisa makes sure they're five minutes early this time. Only Ako hasn't arrived yet, but she strolls in about 30 seconds later.

Sayo and Rinko are standing in front of an open book and appear to reading from it. "Yes, that should be good." Sayo points at one of the pages as she speaks. "Do this one with them."

Sayo and Rinko are in the corner of the room at one of the many tables, so Lisa navigates her way through to stand with them. She notices the staff that Rinko was carrying yesterday resting on the table nearby. She says hello and Ako also shouts a greeting from the doorway.

Sayo gets right down to business. "Thank you for coming." She picks up the staff and hands it to Rinko. "I'll leave this to you. Please let me know later how everything goes."

Rinko nods, "A-all right." Sayo thanks her excuses herself. She slides past the group and is gone before Lisa can even ask why she's leaving. Rinko fills them in. "Sayo has a… meeting today… to discuss the… final plans for our… mission." Rinko touches the book laid out in front of her. "She wants me to… test your magic… aptitude."

Ako practically jumps over the table, "Me first, me first! I want to show you how much better I've gotten since last time!"

Rinko nods, "Sure that's fine. First… let me explain… the spell." Rinko steps back so everyone can gather around the book. The page has a weird circular symbol drawn on it, and it's surrounded by latin words. "This is… a levitation spell." Rinko walks over to the nearest bookshelf and picks out a small book. "You will recite… the spell and try to… move the book. I'll demonstrate… it first."

Rinko places the book down on the table and waits for everyone to look over. "Missusque secundo defluit." The book rises and hovers a few inches off the table. Rinko moves her staff to the right and Lisa gasps in amazement as the book shifts to the right as well. Rinko brings it back to its original placement and sets the book down gently before releasing the magic. "Just… like that."

"Wow! Rin-rin you're so amazing!" Ako praises her loudly. "Okay, I'm ready to try!" Rinko passes her the staff. Ako holds it with both hands, and her face scrunches up. "Uh, Rin-rin? What were the words again?"

Rinko smiles lightly at the question, "Missusque secondo defluit."

"Right… Missusque secondo defluit." Ako repeats the words pretty closely and squeezes her eyes shut. A second ticks by, and then another. Nothing happens. Lisa looks away from the book and then back again, just to make sure she's not missing something. Ako tries again, "Missusque secondo defluit!" Her voice comes out louder and firmer this time, but the book doesn't budge an inch.

"Ako…" Rinko's voice is dripping with sympathy, "Maybe… next time."

Ako nods and pushes the staff into Lisa's hands wordlessly. Her head droops and she moves towards the corner to give Lisa a bit more room.

After seeing Ako fail so badly, Lisa's a bit nervous to try. She glances over at Rinko, "I just say the spell?"

"Yes… and… you have to channel… your energy into the… staff and then through… to the book." Rinko brings her hands together and then points one at the book. "Does that… make sense?"

"I think so." Lisa raises the staff with both of her hands and points the end of it towards the book. She tries to empty her mind, thinking of only the spell she needs to recite and the book she needs to levitate. "Missusque secondo defluit." She leans towards the book and imagines it rising like it did for Rinko.

Unfortunately, the book lies in place, not even twitching. Lisa tries again, but no success. She turns to Rinko apologetically, "Sorry, I guess I don't have the talent for it."

"D-don't worry about it." Rinko shakes her head with a slight frown, "It takes… time to draw out… magic. We'll practice… more after our… mission."

Lisa honestly isn't sure if practice is even going to help her at this point, but using magic seems useful so hopefully she can eventually learn some. She's done for now, so she passes the staff to Yukina.

Yukina's been observing their attempts silently, and now looks hyper focused with the staff in her hands. Her eyes are almost crossed as she stares down at it, like it's the only thing in the room. She inhales deeply, "Missusque secondo defluit." Lisa's eyes snap to the book. It doesn't exactly hover, but it does twitch.

She turns back to Yukina in excitement, "Try again! It definitely moved."

Yukina gives her a small nod and attempts the spell again. "Missusque secondo defluit." The book moves a little more this time, not really gaining height but instead sliding to the right about half an inch.

Rinko seems genuinely impressed. "Wow… that was… really good." She takes the staff back from Yukina when it's offered to her. "Have you… done magic… before?"

Yukina shakes her head, "No, but my father is a retired knight. He can do simple spells."

Ako butts in, "Yukina, you gotta teach me your secrets! I wanna be a mage too, but the darkness hasn't fully accepted me yet."

"You'll get the hang of it," Lisa tries to comfort her.

"I don't really know what I'm doing yet, but once I figure it out I'll tutor you." Yukina assures her. "Until then I'd stick with Rinko."

* * *

The group tries for another hour or so to do magic, but other than Yukina they aren't able to move the book. When Sayo returns from her meeting they decide to call it for the day, and the group splits up. They agree to meet at Sir Enkelton's funeral which is taking place in the nearby church in about an hour.

Lisa and Yukina go back to their room and change from their training gear into formal clothing. Lisa chooses black slacks and a plain blouse. She loves fashion but now's not the time.

Yukina dresses similarly, though for her there's no choice to be made on clothing. She always wears the same shirt and slacks to funerals, which she says is to keep things simple.

The two of them walk silently to meet up with Roselia. The funeral goes by in a blur of sadness and tears, and before she knows it Lisa's back in her room packing for their trip.

The trip will only be a couple days, so her horse saddle bag should have plenty of space for what she needs. She'd swung by the stables after the funeral to fetch hers as well as Yukina's. It lies open on her bed as she gathers her belongings. Two clean undershirts, a pair of slacks in case they need to dress nicer, her favorite light chainmail armor. One by one she mentally checks things off and folds them so they can fit neatly inside the pouch.

Yukina is packing as well. The two of them haven't spoken since before the start of the funeral, and the words spoken by the priest ring in Lisa's ears to fill the silence.

As if she can hear Lisa's thoughts, Yukina breaks their silence. "Lisa." Her voice carries a hint of concern, and when Lisa glances over her shoulder she can see similar emotions mirrored in her gaze.

Lisa's heart drops, the last thing she wants is Yukina worrying about her. They have their first big mission tomorrow after all! She forces her voice up in pitch as she responds. "What's up?" She smiles as big as she can muster, her eyes locking with Yukina's.

The silver-haired teen frowns, and for a split second the air freezes between them. _Please talk to me._ It goes unsaid. Yukina shrugs her shoulders and returns to packing.

Yukina turns back towards her bed and the forced smile slides off Lisa's face. The tension remains in the room, and Lisa can feel it pressing down on her chest. The two of them aren't usually like this.

Lisa sits down on her bed with a sigh. What can she do to stop Yukina from worrying? She turns her head to stare out their one window. The sun's setting and a few stars have started to twinkle in the sky. Seeing the stars reminds her of long nights spent laying in the grass. Lisa furrows her eyebrows. Maybe that's it!

She hops off the bed, new life in her voice, "Yukina!" Lisa bounds across the room and grabs her startled friend by the hand. "Let's go to the field tonight!" She expects some resistance to the idea, so she starts preparing some good reasons why in her head. They still have three hours until curfew. This time of the year their favorite constellations can be seen. Not to mention it'll get their minds off of things.

She pops up, new life in her voice, "Yukina!" Lisa bounds across the room and grabs her startled friend by the hand. "Let's go to the field tonight!" She expects some resistance to the idea, so she starts preparing some good reasons why in her head. They still have three hours until curfew. This time of the year their favorite constellations can be seen. Not to mention it'll get their minds off of things.

Yukina blinks, her eyes cast down on their joined hands. "Okay."

Lisa finds herself grinning at the quick response, relieved that she didn't need any of her arguments. Yukina's hand is warm against her own, and she gives it a gentle squeeze before releasing it. "Great!" She returns to her side of the room to get a long-sleeved shirt, since it might be cold. She advises Yukina to do the same, but she stubbornly insists she'll be fine as is.

Once the two of them are ready Lisa leads the way down to the stables. Their horses are waiting there from this morning, and before long they're galloping side by side towards their hometown. The sun has completely set at this point, so the two are led by the light shining from the moon.

Their hometown is only about a 30 minute horse ride from the castle, and the field rests on the closer edge of town. The two arrive without any difficulty and tie their horses up to the fence surrounding the premises.

"The field" is a large square of grass next to the town's school. It's mostly used for recreation by the school children, and also for any local knight matches or sporting events. Much to Lisa's joy, there's not another soul in sight.

Lisa walks towards the center and points to a random spot. "Is here okay?"

Yukina nods, and the two lay down in the grass. Lisa's on the left, with Yukina on her right. She puts her palms behind her head, taking in the sounds of nature around them. Yukina speaks, "It's been a long time."

"Yeah…" Lisa can feel Yukina shift next to her. "Remember when we used to come as kids? We got in so much trouble for staying out past curfew." Lisa giggles, remembering Yukina's dad scolding them for coming back in the middle of the night.

"It was fun." She can tell that Yukina's smiling from the tone of her voice.

"And now we're knights." Lisa glances to her right and she can see Yukina's golden eyes gleaming in the dark. Her voice cracks, "Without Sir Enkelton." Lisa rolls her head away as fresh tears threaten the corners of her eyes. "Sorry Yukina, we came here to have a good time. I shouldn't have brought him up."

"Lisa." She hears shuffling, and when she looks back Yukina's sitting up and leanings towards her friend. "I'm sorry."

Lisa sits up as well and fights the urge to sniffle as the pain from this afternoon washes over her. "It's not your fault Yukina." Lisa's grateful for the darkness of the night as she wipes her tears with the back of her right arm. "It's just scary you know? If we'd been riding in the front…" Lisa can't finish the sentence.

Yukina's fist clenches in the grass between them. "I'll never let that happen. I'll never let someone I care about die again." Yukina's voice is resolute. She reaches out as if to touch Lisa's shoulder, but hesitates and brings her arm back down to her side. "I promise."

Lisa sniffles and draws in a deep breath. "Thank you Yukina. You always know what to say." She punches her playfully on the shoulder. "Thank you for always being with me."

"I should be the one…" Yukina trails off, her eyes shifting towards the grass. "Thank you, Lisa." Yukina's eyes stay focused down as she continues, "If you hadn't been there today, I don't know what would've happened."

Lisa giggles, "If I hadn't been there? You're the one that saved me! You were off your horse so fast!" She collapses back onto the grass. "I was frozen in fear… Forget about that for now. We came out here to star gaze, right?"

Yukina nods and lies back down. The two are once again side by side. A couple inches separate their hands, and Lisa fights the urge to cover Yukina's with her own. The stars twinkle overhead, and she decides to hold off for now.


End file.
